Farmers' group terms Disha Ravi's arrest as 'inhuman'

Bengaluru: Aikya Horaata, the organisation representing farmers in the State, issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the arrest of 22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi by Delhi police.

The statement issued by Aikya Horaata termed the arrest of Disha Ravi from her home in north Bengaluru by Delhi police as 'inhuman'. Delhi Police illegally whisked away Disha, a volunteer of an organisation named 'Fridays For Future' from her house in Soladevanahalli in Bengaluru to Delhi without giving prior information to her parents. She has been in Delhi police custody. "It is an inhuman to keep a woman who wants to work voluntarily for protecting the environment in police custody," the statement said.

Disha Ravi was arrested by the Delhi police on Saturday and remanded to five days of custody by a court in national capital. She was charged with editing a toolkit or a Google document sharing information about the farm laws protest which was tweeted by international climate activist Greta Thunberg. It is to be noted that toolkits are documents that contain basic information on any campaign, tweet suggestions, hashtags and who to tag on social media. They're used mainly in social media campaigns, including those of political parties in India. The FIR by the Delhi police in this case does not specifically mention Disha Ravi but she has been charged with criminal conspiracy and sedition.

"Many students, including Disha, and other youths have given support to our struggle. This is because they know that this struggle is not only related to farmers but is a struggle for the future of our country. These youngsters have understood that if the Farm Laws are brought into force, climate change will increase and agriculture by small farmers will be replaced by agriculture companies. Therefore, they are fighting against the laws," the statement further added.

On Wednesday Congress leaders also voiced their concern over the arrest of Disha Ravi. Leader like Laxmi Hebbalkar took to social media to extend her support. "21-year-old Climate Change activist Disha Ravi, from our Lingayat community was taken away to Delhi from Bengaluru and is being charged with sedition for supporting the farmers' protests," she tweeted.